McLean and Great Falls are more than zip codes — they're a mindset. Both areas exhibit strong demand, particularly in the luxury housing market, with homes selling swiftly and at premium prices. What’s driving such a successful market? Proximity to D.C., top-tier schools, a strong sense of community, and estates that blend traditional elegance with modern luxury. Homes are off the market in about 20 days, a clear sign that buyers are serious and the competition is fierce.
Whether you’ve lived in five houses or 15, moving and resettling always comes with challenges, especially in a location as vibrant as Northern Virginia. Whether it’s finding the right practical fit for your latest milestone in life, or simply moving to a property that feels more like home, taking this journey alone can be like stumbling through the dark. So if you're ready to buy or sell in one of the most dynamic markets on the East Coast, it’s important to have the right agent by your side. The right move starts with the right guide.
When you walk into one of Laurie Mensing’s open houses, you immediately notice her acute business sense and a deep emotional connection to her work as a real estate agent. It’s easy to see how she is Long & Foster’s number one individual agent company wide. From growing up on the West Coast, to bouncing between houses across the globe while raising a family following her husband’s career assignments, to finally settling down in McLean, moving is in Laurie’s DNA. “I became very familiar with the process of buying and selling homes, and transitioning, and downsizing, and right sizing,” Mensing said. And not only did she have the personal experience, but she became boots on the ground for a destination services company while living in the Middle East to help other relocated families do the same.
This is what inspired her to get her real estate license, she said — “And I never looked back.”
Laurie made it clear that working with her is about finding the right fit, and forming an authentic partnership that helps you buy or sell in your best interest. Indeed, part of what makes her so successful is knowing why real estate work is her passion.
“My motivating factor was that in all those moves that we did, I never felt anyone ever cared about me, my family, my bottom line. The emotional component, the physicality, the whole ‘It's not just a house.’ It's not just a transaction,” Mensing said.
Through working with Laurie you’ll understand that the cornerstones of her work are trust and confidentiality — in a market that can feel impersonal and riddled with competition, she is dedicated to those principles. And her work shows it, as multiple of her clients will show up to real estate events having no idea they are all working with the same agent. These client relationships are also what keep Laurie in this area. Aside from building a life here with her own family, Mensing says, “working here in this area is so invigorating from a cerebral standpoint. And that's what I tell people when they move here, you will never live in a more cerebral environment in your entire life.”
That is what draws people to McLean and Great Falls, but it’s Laurie’s work that keeps them here. She knows you have to have empathy for every situation, understanding both sides of the market in depth, and embracing that real estate is a truly personal business. “If you don’t have that emotional component,” says Mensing, “you’re not going to be successful.”
All industries are changing, and real estate in Northern Virginia certainly looks different than it did in 2006 when Laurie first got her license and started practicing in the area. But amidst internet developments and through global pandemics, nothing helps establish that emotional rapport and trust like a face to face meeting. Of all her tips and tricks, Laurie was adamant about clients embracing open houses and taking chances on those in person interactions to truly get a feel for her and a house. Clients will feel that authenticity and know that Laurie doesn’t cut corners with her work — but most importantly they’ll see her passion.
“That’s what I’ll be remembered for,” Mensing said. “Is being humble and kind.”
"Through working with Laurie you’ll understand that the cornerstones of her work are trust and confidentiality."